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For problems of this type there are some general rules:
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\n" ); document.write( "Whatever you do to one side (add to it, subtract from it, multiply it by, divide it by, and
\n" ); document.write( "so forth) you must also do the same to the other side to keep the sides balanced.
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\n" ); document.write( "In general, try to collect all the terms containing the unknown variable on one side of
\n" ); document.write( "the equation, and gather all the numbers on the other side.
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\n" ); document.write( "Combine all the terms containing the unknown into one term. On the other side of the equation
\n" ); document.write( "combine all the numbers into one.
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\n" ); document.write( "Divide both sides by the multiplier of the unknown variable.
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\n" ); document.write( "Let's apply these rules to this problem. Start with:
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\n" ); document.write( "Let's move the +3 from the left side of the equation. Do this by subtracting 3 from the
\n" ); document.write( "left side. But when you subtract 3 from the left side, you must also subtract 3 from the
\n" ); document.write( "right side. Taking 3 from the left side leaves you with just 2x on the left side. And
\n" ); document.write( "taking three from the right side subtracts that 3 from the 8 on the right side. As a result
\n" ); document.write( "after subtracting 3 from both sides you are left with:
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\n" ); document.write( "Next let's get rid of the 5x on the right side by subtracting 5x from both sides.
\n" ); document.write( "Subtracting 5x from the right side makes the 5x disappear on that side. On the left side
\n" ); document.write( "when you take 5x away from the 2x you are left with -3x. As a result, the equation you
\n" ); document.write( "are left with is:
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\n" ); document.write( "Notice now that we have the unknown on one side of the equation and on the other side we
\n" ); document.write( "have only a number. So all we have to do is divide both sides by the multiplier of the
\n" ); document.write( "unknown, that is divide both sides by -3. When we do that the left side of the equation
\n" ); document.write( "becomes just x and the right side of the equation becomes
\n" ); document.write( "is just:
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\n" ); document.write( "and that is the answer.
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\n" ); document.write( "You can now check this answer by substituting it for x in the original problem. If our answer
\n" ); document.write( "is correct, then both sides of the original problem will be equal. So we start with:
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\n" ); document.write( "Substituting
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\n" ); document.write( "Do the multiplications on each side to get:
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\n" ); document.write( "Now you can get rid of the denominators by multiplying both sides (all terms) by 3 to get:
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\n" ); document.write( "Do the additions on both sides and the result is:
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\n" ); document.write( "Both sides are equal, and, therefore, our answer is correct.
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\n" ); document.write( "Hope this helps you to understand how to do problems of this type.
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